Machine for making fence-stays



N0. 6I3,358. Patented Nov. I, I898. E. W. CORNELL.

MACHINE FOR MAKING FENCE STAYS.

(Application filed Dec. 31, 1897.) No Model.)

WITNESSES n4: NORRIS PETERS 00.. Pno'mumu WASHINGTON, u. c.

UNITE STATES Y PATENT ()FFICTE.

EVANVWYOORNELL, on ADRIAN, MICHIGAN.

MACHINE FOR MAKING FENCE-STAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,358, dated November1, 1898.

Application filed December 31, 1897. Serial No. 664,815. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EVAN W. CORNELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Adrian, in the county of Lenawee, State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for MakingFence-Stays; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figuresof reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a machine for making fence-stays for wirefences of the class in which the vertical stay is adapted to embrace thelateral wires of the fence in such manner as to bind them together; andthe invention consists in providing means for forming the stay-wire intosuch shape as to enable it to be readily attached to the lateral wiresof the fence by a very simple operation, which means will be hereinafterfully set forth, and pointed out particularly in the claims.

The object of the invention is to produce a stay-wire adapted to beattached to the lateral wires of a fence which shall be so formed as toenable said stay to be readily attached to said lateral wires withoutadditional preparation, the arrangement being such as to enable thestay-wire to be quickly, perfectly, and economically made. This objectis attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine. Fig. 2 isa vertical transverse section through the feeding mechanism as on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan View of the rear end of themachine, showing the means for forming in said stay the partially-closedcoils adapted to embrace the lateral wires of a fence. Fig. 4 is aperspective view of one of the funnel-guides which are employed to guidethe wire through the machine and the vertical faces of which serve asstops against which the end of the stay-wire is placed and whichdetermine the location of the respective loops or coils therein. Fig. 5is a plan View of the stay-wire as formed by this machine. Fig. 6 is anenlarged detail in section of the end of a shaft having a spiral way inthe periphery thereof which serves to form the loops or coils in saidstay-wire, showing the bridge across said spiral way which confines thewire therein, said view being taken as on line 6 6 of Fig. '7. Fig. 7 isa perspective view of the end of the shaft, showing the spiral wayformed in the periphery thereof and the bridge crossing the channel ofsaid way.

Referring to the letters and figures of reference, A designates theframe of the machine, which may be of any suitable construction and ofsuch length as to permit of the formation of the desired length of stay.Mounted upon said frame is the operative mechanism of the machine, whichconsists of the feed-rollers B and C, respectively, of which the upperroller B is provided with a gear-wheel B, and with said gear is fixedupon a horizontal shaft a, which shaft is journaled at its opposite endsin the brackets D, which are secured to the opposite sides of the frameof said machine. Mounted upon one end of the shaft (1 is a sprocketwheel E, adapted to receive a sprocket-chain, as shown by dotted linesE, which chain also passes around a second sprocket-wheel E,supported insuitable bearings near the tail of the machine and adapted to be rotatedby means of acrank F.

Meshing with the gear-wheel B is a pinion G, which is attached to orcarries the lower feed-roller C, and which, together with said roller,is journaled upon a lower spring-shaft H, whose projecting ends passthrough and are confined in the vertical slots 1), formed in the sidesof the brackets D, the ends of said shaft H being supported on theadjustingscrews 0, which are threaded in the project ing ears d, formedon said brackets. By means of the adj usting-screws the lower feedrollermay be forced upward, so as to tightly confine the wire between thegrooved faces of said feed-rollers, while the spring of the shaft H willpermit of a slight vertical movement of the lower roller to accommodateany inequality in the wire.

Mounted upon the forward end of the ma chine is a series of smallguide-rollers e, between which the stay-wire f is adapted to pass beforeentering the feedrollers and which are so set as to effect astraightening of said wire in its passage therethrough.

Located directly in the path of the feedrollers is a shear of ordinaryconstruction, which consists of a fixed plate 9, having an aperturethrough which the wire f passes and to which is pivoted a shear-plate 9,through which the wire also passes, and which is provided with a cuttingedge on a line with the aperture in the plate g, said shear-plate beingprovided with a long lever g, which extends toward the tail of themachine in reach of the operator manipulating the crank F, whereby by adepression of said lever the staywire may be severed by said shearin amanner well understood.

Mounted upon the bed of the machine in line with the feed-rollers is aseries of guides, through which the wire is carried by said rollers.These guides consist of rectangular plates I, secured to the bed of themachine and provided with a funnel J, whose small end communicates withan aperture leading through the vertical face of said plate and throughwhich the wire of the stay is adapted to pass. These funnels receive theend of the wire in succession as it is fed through the machine by thefeed-rollers and guide said wire through the apertures in the verticalface of the plates I, whereby said wire, although somewhat bent, iscaused to pass in a straight line through the machine and is properlypresented to the spirally-grooved shaft at the tail of the machine,where the series of coils which are adapted to embrace the lateral wiresof the fence are formed in said staywire.

Secured to the bed of the tail of the machine is an angular plate K,having the projecting bearings h, in which the shaft L is freelysupported, so as to rotate and slide longitudinally. Upon one end ofsaid shaft is a crank M, by means of which said shaft may be rotated.Formed on the opposite end of said shaft is a spiral groove i, whichtraverses the circumference of said shaft and through the medium ofwhich the coils in the stay-wire which embrace the lateral wire of thefence are formed.

Formed in the raised portion K of the plate K is a funnel-shapedaperture m, which passes therethrough, as shown by dotted lines 'in Fig.3, the outer end of said aperture registering with the spiral channel t'in the end of the shaft L, which shaft is supported in its bearings atan angle to the line of said aperture. The initial end of thestay-wiref, after passing through the last guide, enters this aperture mand is guided thereby to the spiral groove 2' in the end of said shaftL. To confine the wire within said groove, a bridge n is formed acrosssaid spiral groove, under which the end of the wire is confined, asclearly shown in Fig. 6, so that by a rotation of said shaft through themedium of the crank M, which makes nearly one complete revolution,

the wire of the stay is wound within said spiral groove, forming apartially-closed coil 1 in the end thereof. After the formation of thiscoil the crank is reversed to the original position, as shown inFig. 3,at which point said crank is arrested by the stop 0, projectingtherefrom, which engages the projecting plate K. This movement frees thewire from the spiral groove in the end of said shaft and leaves saidwire projecting through said groove under the bridge a with the coil 1formed in the end thereof. The wire is then drawn through the machinetoa point where it is desired to form a succeeding coil 2, when thecrank M is again operated to form said coil, the formation of whichleaves the end of the wire of the stay standing at right angles to thebody or remaining portion thereof. The operation is repeated until coils3, 4, 5, and (5 are formed, or as many coils are formed in the stay-wireas there are lateral wires in the fence. The formation of each coilcauses the straight sections of the stay to stand at right angles,whereby when the stay is completed it describes a quadrangular figure,as shown in Fig. 5, whose straight sections are united bypartially-closed coils adapted to embrace the lateral wires of a fence.The attachment of this stay to the lateral wires of the fence has beendescribed in an earlier application by me, Serial No. (333,2a1, and neednot be entered into in this case.

To provide for spacing the coils in the staywire the requisite distanceapart, the guideplates I are employed, which are mounted upon the bed ofthe machine at varying distances apart, as shown in Fig. 1, the distancebetween said plates determining the distance between the coils in thestay-wire. After forming the initial coil in the end of the wire thesevered wire, which forms the stay, is drawn through the guide-platenearest the shear, when its end is backed against said plate, whichserves as a stop therefor and determines the point where the second coilshall be formed. After the formation of the second coil the wire isdrawn through the succeeding guide-plate and its end again backedagainst said plate,when the next coilis formed, and so on the operationis repeated, the space between the series of guide-plates being variedaccording to the distance between the lateral wires of the fence.

It will be understood that after the formation of a stay through theoperation of placing the series of partially-closed coils therein asucceeding stay is run through the machine by a manipulation of thecrank F, when said stay-wire is again severed by the shear, and theoperation of forming the coils therein re peated.

The object in placing the crank F near the tail of the machine is toenable said crank, through Which the feeding mechanism is operated, asWell as the crank M, to be within easy reach of the operator standing atthe tail of the machine.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for forming stay-wiresfor fences, the combination withthe feeding mechanism, a series of guides in line therewith throughwhich the stay-wire is adapted to pass, and means for forming a seriesof loops or coils in said stay-wire.

2. In a device for forming stay-wires for fences, the combination withthe feeding mechanism,means for placing successive coils or bends insaid wire, and a series of guides and stops adapted to permit of thepassage of the wire therethrough and spaced from one another to formstops for the end of said wire to determine the distance between thecoils formed therein.

3. In a device for forming stay-wires for fences, the combination withthe feeding mechanism, a series of guides for directing the wirestanding in line with said feeding mechanism, the shaft supported torotate, said shaft having a spiral way in the end thereof adapted toreceive said wire, and means for retaining said wire in said way.

4. In a device for forming stay-wires for fences, the combination withthe feeding mechanism, a series of guides for directing the stay-wirethrough the machine, a shaft at the end of said machine supported torotate, said shaft having a spiral way in the end thereof adapted toreceive the end of said stay-wire, and a projection from said wayadapted to engage the end of said Wire.

5. In a device for forming stay-wires for fences, the combination withthe feeding mechanism, a series of guides for directing the stay wirethrough the machine, a shaft at the end of the machine supported torotate, said shaft having a spiral Way in the end thereof adapted toreceive the end of said wire, and a bridge crossing said spiral wayunder which the end of the wire is adapted to be confined.

6. In a device for forming stay-wires for fences, the combination withthe feeding mechanism, a series of guides for directing the wire throughthe machine, a shaft at the tail of the machine supported to rotate,said shaft standing at an angle to the line of said stay-wire and havingin the end thereof a spiral way adapted to receive the end of said Wire,and means for engaging the end of said wire to retain it in said way.

7. In a machine for forming stay-Wires for fences, the combination withthe guiding mechanism, of the feeding mechanism con sisting of engaginggears carrying the peripheral grooved pulleys, the lower gear and pulleymounted on a verticallymovable spring-shaft, and means for forcing saidshaft upward to confine the Wire between said grooved pulleys.

8. In a device for forming stay-Wires for fences, the combination withthe rotary shaft having away therein, means for directing the end of thewire into the way in said shaft, and a projection extending from theside of said way under which the Wire is adapted to be engaged to retainit therein.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in-presence of two witnesses.

EVAN W. CORNELL.

Witnesses:

D. B. MORGAN, F. E. PRIDDY.

